you know, this quarter we've averaged about 50,000 jobs a month of growth. that's a way dramatic improvement from the minus 750,000 jobs a month we were averaging when the president took office. but it still needs to be -- it's not near enough. we've got to start putting a dent in that high unemployment rate. and so, i think there could be bumps along the way that warrant the president and you saw him out in his remarks just a few minutes ago pushing his three areas of targeted job growth of infrastructure, of clean energy, and of helping small business. >> and, over course, he was there at a battery production plant, which had received stimulus money. he's trying to make that connection which has been so stubbornly resisted by the american people to really let people understand the connection between the stimulus package and jobs growth. why do you think it's so hard

for people to get what the white house has been trying to explain? >> i think that's a fair point and i think the reason it's been hard is two fold. number one, this is the deepest recession since 1929. and since it began in 2007, more than 8 million people lost their jobs. now most experts who look at it think millions more would have lost their jobs had we not done that but that is, you know, when you're in the middle of the economic crisis, it's hard to find comfort in that. so, i think that's one part. the second part is, partly as a result of republicans intentions, intentionally doing this, there has been a conflating of people thinking that the t.a.r.p. rescue under the bush administration attributed to the stimulus package. it had nothing to do with banks. tax cuts for 95% of workers and

programs to keep police on the beat, fund infrastructure projects. if you look at individual projects, the american people seem to be very receptive to what the stimulus did, thought of as a package that they have been viewing it as kind of a, as an indicator of all of the things that happened. >> when we talk about the underemployment rate and also the unemployment rate the numbers for minority communities are just horrible. we're talking about 15%, 16% when you come to hispanics and african-americans. is there anything that can be targeted? i know there's one bill, george miller's bill in congress, but for job training, but is there anything on a broader scale given the fiscal crisis that can be done or is this just going be the stubborn part of the unemployment rate that you have to deal with on a long term basis? >> well, you know, there's some elements of both. what you say is absolutely right among minority communities, the

unemployment rate is shockingly and totally unacceptably high as well as among the young. you see the unemployment rate among men. a lot of that is because what industries various people are in and they have been hardest hit in this recession. clearly the number one thing you want to do is get growth going again and have broad based economic growth which will disproportionately help people that have been helped during this downturn but there are some either geographically tar get or otherwise targeted ways we can try to get jobs to places that have been hardest hit. so, when you look at construction and manufacturing in particular, those have been very hard hit in this recession. and you've seen a lot of what the president is talking about, be it infrastructure, be it clean energy manufacturing, and be it small business, those are three areas which would disproportionately help groups with the unemployment rate.

>> finally one of the things that the president has talked to in his charlotte, north carolina appearance was the financial regulation reform that he thinks now has a better chance, i know there's bean lot of negotiations, you worked closely with paul voelker. of all people, paul krugman in the "new york times" takes issue breaking up the big banks, said that will not prevent the next crisis, you would just have smaller banks that would need to be bailed out. what's your response to what krugman is writing about today? >> look, i respect paul krugman quite a lot and i'm good friends with paul voelker. krugman got a little confused in his article. he was attributing that paul voelker's view was we should break up all the big banks. i don't think that's an actual portrayal of voelker's view. he agrees with the administration we got to have a comprehensive financial regulatory reform that no one thing is the silver bullet.

restricting activity so that they don't engaging as risky a behavior, having higher capital requirements, ending too big to fail, protecting consumers all of those are important pieces. i think the president is right, my read in talking to people there's a big clamor among the american people and experts and even among many of the bankers themselves that it's just way too dangerous to leave the statue quo as it was. we got change the rules. >> austan goolsbee. thank you very much. you bring your own leaf blower with you out there? >> that's right. >> thanks for putting up with it. we appreciate it. coming up next what will it take to shake unemployment out of neutral? nbc's savannah gu itathrie up n.

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best news on the job front in years. but with unemployment still near 10%, the president admitted

today's march job report is a small step forward. savannah guthrie and ron brownstein is joining us. the president was looking on the bright side but they don't want to go out too far. everyone remembers what happened in 1992 when george herbert walker bush sounded too positive about a declining economy and got slammed. >> yeah. i think they are pleased to see some job growth. the consensus forecast was to add 200,000 jobs and the economy added 168,000 jobs, about a third ever them from census hiring. that's temporary census hiring. but also sector hiring, very encouraging for them. temporary workers added. that's use saw that real, kind of underemployment number kick up. people who wished they had full time jobs but only have temporary jobs. there's a lot for them to be thankful about and happy about. this is the political dance they go through every month now when

we get that jobs report which is encouraging people, we're coming around. our policies are working but we're not doing a jig yet. >> ron, they still can't persuade people that the stimulus produced jobs. as best as they can some economists don't think the stimulus added jobs. what the stimulus did is prevent teachesers and firemen and other public employees from losing their jobs. >> to be clear, it does attribute substantially more jobs than would have been otherwise to the stimulus. it was striking. the president has been waiting for this day for at that long time. esalmost bill clintonesque in his reluctance to get off the stage. he's saying we're beginning to turn the corner. >> reminded me of -- >> he did not want to give up this moment. one thing that's clear and the

democrats have been warned by pollsters like stan greenberg among those voters who are still out of work, a triumphant message of we solved the problem is not the lead but seen as offensive and not getting it right. they are walking a very clear political tight rope between saying our approach is beginning to produce benefits. that has to be the core message but i still feel your pain. >> david gregory put it really well on morning joe talking about the recovery act. he said the game of jobs is not being felt. it's not that there weren't jobs created or saved it's whether they were felt. with added jobs through the recovery act but we lost 8 million jobs in this recession. kind of the deck chair off the queen mary. >> some people loss value in their homes. so many people are afraid of losing their jobs. as the "new york times" said the government predicts the jobless rate will average 9.8% next

year. 8.4% in 2012 before falling to 5% in 2016. that's probably what tim geithner was talking about on "the today show" with matt lauer. one other themes that came out in two of the president's appearances, the two appearances in boston and in maine yesterday, savannah, was blame the messenger. let's take a listen to one of his campaign rips out on the trail yesterday. >> can you imagine if some of these reporters were working on a farm -- [ laughter ] -- you planted some seeds and they came out the next day and looked and nothing has happened. [ laughter ] there's no crops. we're going to starve.

it's been a week, folks. >> well, he's not wrong. >>, no i was going to say, first of all, it was pretty funny, i have to say and i think he's got washington media and political culture pretty nailed. it's an age old complaint. everybody always covers the horse race as to whose up, whose down. president obama does not miss an opportunity to rail against what he calls the cable chatter. so, you know, i think he makes a fair point, no question about it, but this is obviously something that gets talked about. >> on the other side of the ledger is the fact when you look at the health care polling, gallop noted there's a lot of stability in it on the core question of what it means for me and my family. that's an uphill climb for the white house. most white americans distinct from nonwhite americans have been dubious that it hill help

them. they've made some ground on people saying it might be good for the overall country. that's just about even. on this question what it means for me and my family we've been looking at numbers, only as few as 20% of white americans say it will help me. that's a challenge all the way through and it has been very stable. not just today something we've been dealing with throughout the debate. >> i want to ask you about the rnc and michael steele. what does he have to do to get fired >> look, parties don't like to make changes under duress when they are feeling the other side is out for blood, usually causes them to dig in the heels. republicans made a historic move in their own kind of tradition of naming an african-american rnc chairman and i think they will be very reluctant to undo that decision, adding another layer to what parties don't like to do this. you're looking at a series of events that in normal circumstances you would say boy, the pitchforks would be out for

this guy. >> of course it's also very close to the mid-term elections to be firing the ship's captain. >> you don't want to validate the story that the opposition is pushing. on the other hand it leads you to dig in your heels when maybe you shouldn't. >> of course, join savannah and chuck todd week days at 9:00 eastern for the daily run down right here on msnbc. have a great weekday you guys. been a tough week for republicans, i imagine. michael steele, for our daily briefing on michael steele's job performance. coming up next, jonathan martin. as the weather warms, walgreens and the makers of zyrtec... want to make sure allergies don't always have to keep you cooped up inside. that's why we're making it easier for everyone to find allergy solutions. by offering products like new zyrtec liquid gels. zyrtec, the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine, is now available in a liquid gel.

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>> nobody maintains order

scientistologyists except republicans. >> ul not want to be persona nongranta at a bondage-themed sex club in hollywood right jonathan martin. a bad week for the rnc. a week the rnc wishes it could forget. clearly embarrassed the leadership and the bulk of the blame for these recent gaffes falling on michael steele. >> part of the reasons for what you just mentioned. they are not going to push out their party chair marc anthony heading into this fall. parties don't do that unless there's an obvious rationale. really what's at stake is the money side of things. we talk about some of the, you know sex line or bondage line and it's good for a few laughs. the more serious issue are these embarrassing episode for the

republicans going to drive donors away? that's the real fear that you hear. >> one of the things we're picking up is that republicans are contributing to the republican governor's association, to haley barber rather than to the rnc. you don't see a lot of big donors showing up for next week's new orleans rnc gathering. this is what former minnesota governor and possible republican candidate said to matt lauer today. lukewarm endorsement at best. >> do you still give michael steele your full support? >> well, that's a terrible incident, matt. just a stupid thing as people involved with really bad judgment and didn't have the controls in place to catch it. so he has to take responsibility for that. they did that. they fired the employee. i hope they learned from this. this should not have happened. it's on michael's watch. he took responsibility for it. hopefully they can continue on from here. >> he still has your support?

>> yeah, he does. >> not a ringing endorsement. >> what you guys are reporting is that the rnc general counsel is going take over looking at the books and making sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen? >> we have a story on politico about a former counsel to the rnc being brought back in as part of a measure to institute some accountability over what's being spent and i think that's the kind of stuff, andrea that could reassure some donors and activists that have real concerns about where the party is now and what's happening in that building. again, like you said, when you got folks like former governor sarah palin one of the biggest draws in the party that don't want to be seen at an rnc fundraiser next week that could cause potential problems when it comes to raising dough. you have tim palenty offering a

lukewarm support it doesn't help the process. >> there's a continue in the "wall street journal" saying the press is treating it as a mini sex scandal. the free wheeling spending and lack of controls in the party is the latest evidence that mr. steele has yet to figure out his role. that's the "wall street journal". >> i talked to the chairman who has been around politics for a long time, he said chairman steele who said he's a fan of, chairman steele needs to keep his eyes on fundraising. that's the sentiment from republicans right now, chairman steele needs to focus just on the money getting the party in a place where they can take advantage of what could be a pretty good opportunity this fall to try and pick up some seats in the house and senate. >> okay. jonathan martin, have a great

weekend. thank you for joining us. cash for cities across the country pfr they are facing some tough economic decisions. up next we'll be talking to the los angeles mayor who is trying to save public school jobs while trying to close a multimillion dollar short fall. plus which spaert winning on the economy. new poll numbers straight ahead. follow the show online at andrea.msnbc.com. hey! increase in 6 months. pete, back it up! ( marker squeaking ) when business travel leaves you drained, re-charge with comfort suites. spacious rooms, free hi-speed internet, and free hot breakfast. comfort suites. power up. now stay two separate times with comfort suites... or any choice hotel and earn a free night. book at choicehotels.com.

or any choice hotel and earn a free night. these are actual farmers who raise vegetables in campbell's condensed soup. so if you've ever wondered who grew my soup, well, here they are. ♪ so many, many reasons ♪ it's so m'm! m'm! good! ♪ topping the headlines right now on "andrea mitchell reports." homeland security secretary janet napolitano is considering sending more federal aid to flood damaged areas in rhode island. the secretary took an aerial tour today of the damage caused by the same's worst flooding in 200 years. sign of easing tensions with china.

the chinese leader will visit the united states for the nuclear summit talks this month after the obama administration indicated it may hold off and likely will hold off on blaming china for currency manipulation in the treasury department report. that deal was sealed last night during an unusual one hour call. the president held with china from air force one holding up the president's departure from the plane while the press corps waited not knowing quite what was going on. and we now know that there were two suspected pirate attacks in less than 24 hours this week. pirates reportedly fired shots at a tanker, and the uss nicholas came under attack. the los angeles unified school district is facing a $645 million budget short fall. more than 5,000 teachers in the district have already gotten their pink slips for next year. but a new plan to shorten the school year could save more than

2,000 jobs. joining us now to talk about this, antonio villaraigosa, mayor of los angeles. mr. mayor, thank you very much for joining us. you have been facing -- i wanted to ask you about this shortened school year. how will that affect the education of the kids? >> it will have an effect on the education of the kids. i would have preferred that the school district negotiated a cut in pay that didn't result in shortened school year but that was the best that they could do under the circumstances. i don't actually run the school district. i have about 20,000 kids in my partnership schools which are the lowest performing schools in los angeles. but i can tell you that when you look at the size of these budget cuts, the size of the deficit that the school district is facing, it's a real statement, i think, of the fact that the state is in big trouble right

now. that they are not funding our schools. we're something 44th in per pupil spending. there's a lot of talk in sacramento about kids and education but they are not -- they are not walking the talk that's for sure. >> you know, what's so interesting is you have a background in the labor movement. you were an organizer for the teachers. but you're suggesting that the unions, your deputy chief of staff said the unions priced themselves out of the marketplace. >> there's no question that what you find in los angeles and i think you find throughout the country, it's a resistance to reform. i said i'm a big supporter of teachers and i believe in teachers unions as well and in collective bargaining. but there's also no question that the state is running out of money. that the school districts are faced with tough choices. and that particularly in los angeles the teachers union has been unwilling to make the kind of sacrifices that we need to make right now so that we can

begin to engaging reform and tell the story that we do need to invest more in our public schools. >> let's talk about some of the tangible effects. what particular things have been cut out of the education for the school children? are we talking about electives, about languages, about music, art, physical education? what had to be pared back over the last year? >> the school board is focused on cutting bureaucracy. that's important. the teachers union agrees you need to focus on the classroom first. cut the outside bureaucracy before you cut to the bone, if you will. but the school district has had to cut to the bone. the fact of the matter is that with -- they cut thousands of positions last year and will be

cutting thousands as well this year, even with this reduction. they are still looking at a very large deficit. in my own schools, in the partnership schools, one of the thing we're doing, we've aligned our swefls an aclu lawsuit that's beginning to question the disproportionate impact ever layoffs and senator on low performing schools where you usually have the least senior teachers and what has happened at many of our schools is you see just a revolving door, if you will, of attachers getting laid off because they are the least senior teachers. that has an impact on these schools that's disproportionate to other schools. >> as we watch pictures of the president now leaving charlotte, north carolina, what would be your message to the federal government. i know it's a state and local responsibility and california as we all know has its own burden because of years and years of referendum which has limited tax options and really constrained

the state government as the governor often complains. what's your message to arne duncan and the federal government in terms of what they can do to help? >> the message would be in the first-round california didn't qualify for race to the top money. there's no way that we can talk about race to the top and reform without california being included. the fact is we passed legislation to qualify for race to the top funds and my hope is that arne duncan and the white house are going to understand that reform is taking place here in california. that we are particularly here in los angeles where we have 92,000 kids in earth charter, pilot schools or my partnership schools, that we are engaged in efforts to be more accountable to reduce the dropout rate and raise achievement rates. the other thing i would say is we can't let the state off the hook. the fact of the matter is california used to have the best

public schools in the nation. and we were right at the top in per pupil spending. there's a correlation between the fact that we're at the bottom now and also we're not funding our schools. we talk a great game, but frankly we're not investing in our kids, in our teachers in making sure that we do have the best education anywhere. >> thank you very much mr. mayor. been a pleasure to see you and we look forward to keeping on top of this in the coming weeks and months. >> great talking to you. >> this week we are remembering autism awareness at nbc news and msnbc. to raise awareness for the disorder that affects tens of millions of adults and children and in honor of the day, autism speaks launched the light it blue campaign. last night prominent buildings all around the world, including the empire state building lit up blue to raise awareness for

autism. to learn more go to autismspeaks.com. thousands are gathering today in vatican city where pope benedict xvi is celebrating good friday mass. the easter celebration comes as the catholic church faces fresh allegations in the widening priest sex abuse scandal. also today catholics are marking the fifth anniversary of the death of pope john ii. he died april 2, 2005 at age 84. take things as they come? i've got an idea. or improvise? maxwell house custom-roasts each bean... for a full-flavored cup of coffee. so you can be good to the last drop. [ male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools,

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where is the bounce. a new poll show democrats are losing grounds with voters on both health care and the economy. looking towards november republicans now hold a four-point edge in voters choice for congress. last fall democrats were up by six points. let's bring in our strategists.

karen, what is the problem with the democrats lagging behind? >> i think those numbers are what i would expect. look, the economy while we saw today were starting to get better not good enough. we know there's more we need to do. the democrats are the party in power. there's a lot of dissatisfaction with washington in general and people are taking that out specifically on the party in power. we did see some numbers earlier this week that indicate voters do recognize it was bush policies actually that put us in this position. i would imagine, i've got family in north carolina who are struggling, glad the president was there today. but, they haven't quite seen the turn around that we're all looking for. so people want to see change a little bit faster. >> karen, i want to ask you about the whole comparison to 1994. what we're seeing is attitudes in their recent poll show that compared to 1984 consumer confidence is lower, the public is less satisfied with the nation's direction.

a record low 28% say that most members ever congress deserve re-election. could this be a real nightmare scenario for the democrats? >> i don't think we yet know. the big story of 2010 fall elections is they are going to be as unpredictable as the 2008 cycle was because voters are -- they are very upset, very frustrated particularly at institutions, corporations, government. if you look at what's happening with the catholic church f-you're a person of faith that's very disturbing to see if you look at what's happening with toyota, you feel you can't trust corporations. there's a larger share of pall that has been cast that is contributing to the mood. people have been feeling frustrated and down for some time and you have to recognize that there's going to be some long term effects. that being said when we get to fall elections the republicans will try to campaign on a message that we want to repeal and take away your kids ability to stay on your health care

until they are 26. i don't think that's going to be a message that will resonate with people and democrats will come to the table with actual accomplishments. >> patrick? >> well, look, the president got a short bounce from his victory in health care. this lasts about ten days. you have a good press conference it lasts about ten days and then you're back to normal. trouble is normal is very rough for the democratic party right now because bush is now 16, 17 months behind us and people tend to blame obama and the democrats, the stimulus didn't work. democrats got good news in that the election is six months away. a lot of things can happen between now and then. if the election happen today the charlie cooks of the world is right the democrats would lose the house. >> you, pat, have felt very comfortable with the president last night.

the next thing you'll be saying negativism. >> he's not as tough in a core of snobs and other things that were said by mr. agnew back in the old days. some lady in baltimore wrote that. >> i was going to give you credit. karen? >> you know, you're always on good ground when you're picking on the media. everybody does that. sure, he's impatient. one of the things that i think is so smart that the administration is doing right now, i think that they understand that what happened with the stimulus package, obviously i disagree with pat, it did work but it got conflated with the wall street bailout. in most voters mind they don't separate the two. so, with the health care plan w-the jobs plan, it's important that the president get out there and proactively campaign for these ideas and not get on defense but stay on offense and

pleased to hear the white house will continue this. >> with all due respect, what the president says doesn't make any difference right now. if the economy is doing well, if unemployment is falling to 9.5, 8.5, 8, something like that and moving in the right direction that's great news and people will say well maybe i was wrong, maybe the stimulus did work. but if it's holding as it is right now -- >> even tim geithner doesn't project that, the treasury doesn't project it will fall below 9%. >> that's an awful lot of pain for an awful lot of people for an aufrlly long time. even people who have confidence in and like the president will say these guys don't know how to do it. we need a change up there. what is the argument for re-electing democrats in november. if you don't like the health care bill and the economy is in the dumpster. >> speaking of needing a change.

leapt me ask you both of you about michael steele. do you see any chance -- >> change in the national committee now would take a small problem and turn it into an explosion. >> pat, wait a second. >> others are making a mistake. now is the time they did a stupid thing and the person responsible is out. now is the time i think when the party leader should say look we got to go down there. the guys made mistake and get behind him because we're all in this together for november and you can't throw somebody off the sled without it being spotted. but the whole situation is not the problem. the real problem is spending money like drunken sailors at a time when you try to make an argument to the american people that republicans can be fiscally responsible. if the chairman of the party doesn't know what's going on and sex line numbers are being sent out on direct mail pieces and kids are partying at a strip club, the chairman of the party

is supposed to be raising money to win elections. it shows a lot of disrespect for those donors. if i was a donor and look at reports he's flying on jets and riding in limos that's not what i write my check for. i don't see how republicans can make an argument of any kind if you can manage your own party. >> let me tell you, they gave the -- the national committee gave $9 million for bob mcdonnell for his election victory. they gave 3 million to the gentleman in new jersey. they gave money for chain in the house, 2 million in the snous. 250,000 sent up to for the party. it's not all going for the voyeur's bondage club. >> they should have a lot more money than they do. you know that's a problem, pat. >> they got three big victories,

karen. how many do you have in the last three outings. we did pretty good in the mid-term election. when you're the party out of power it's about raising money. >> to be continued. pat buchanan and karen finny. what political story will be making story in the next 24 hours. and the day gadget geex have been waiting for. apples ipad are expected to hit store shelves. if you need to figure out how to use the new device, whatever you do don't ask david letterman. >> this is like an electronic slinky. questions to ask yourself now before waiting in line for the ipad. number eight, really what the hell is it? ome. retirement's a journey and, we know the territory.

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what political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours? jonathan capehart "the washington post" editorial and msnbc contributor joins us now. hey, jonathan. >> hey, andrea. good to see you. what are we going to be talking about tomorrow? the economy. >> i think the economy. >> yes, and the unemployment numbers. as we saw, the president speaking in north carolina trying to pivot now to the economy and the unemployment number is unchanged from last month. as we saw announced from the white house, actually the numbers from last month, i'm sorry, from february were actually better than initially reported. so, you know, this is something the white house wants people to talk about. it's a good news story, as he said, at the event, we are beginning to turn the corner. at the same time the president is still trying to sell health care and, you know, he's been trying to marry the two to say that fixing health care will be a way of fixing the economy. and so when dr. romer i believe

is going on "meet the press" on sunday perhaps david will ask her to elaborate on that and also to ask, you know, why the administration is still having to sell something to the american people that the american people through the polls anyway are showing that they don't quite like even if they don't quite understand it. >> by the way, i just want to point out to you another thing that just happened from robert gibbs talking to reporters on the way back from north carolina is the white house is now seeking clarification from hamid karzai. just five days after the president was there, karzai criticized the u.s. and the west for he thought trying to weaken him during the elections, revisiting all of that. hillary clinton has now spoken to karzai today and gibbs says the white house is troubled by his remarks and wants some clarification, especially given all the money and the u.s. resources and lives in afghanistan. this is continuing and jim jones

was on "jim lehrer" last night the national security adviser saying we thought we had cleaned it up last sunday but this is not going away. >> yeah, clearly not. especially when you have karzai out there being very publicly critical of western government. >> okay, jonathan. you have a great weekend. >> thanks. you, too. >> on this easter holiday it is also a weekend for sports fans. opening day for the yankees and the red sox on sunday in boston. opening day here in washington starts with the president throwing out the first pitch which we will bring you live from national park on monday. and let's hope he also brings the nats some better luck this season. speaking of better luck, as our sportscast continues on monday, we will get into tiger woods' first news conference since the scandal live from the masters in augusta. and then, of course, monday's number one sporting event -- the ncaa men's basketball championship game. john stewart pointed out that president obama has been on a roll for the last week and a

half. well, except for one small thing. >> is there anything this guy can't do now? >> if they get to the final four, kansas keeps on going. kansas state impresses me and i think kentucky pulls it out. and here -- ooh. i finally break away from reggie love. >> i see we've found your kryptonite. >> okay. just for the record, this is what i wrote, march 18th for politico. quote, there ain't no mountain high enough for the mountaineers. that's right. i'm picking west virginia over kansas. closed quote. march 18th. well, he does shoot hoops better than i do. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." go mountaineers. we hope you have a happy easter. join us monday and remember you can follow the show online and on twitter.

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i'm contessa brewer and right now on msnbc the economy and jobs. >> today is an encouraging day. we are beginning to turn the corner. >> the president in north carolina reacting to some rare good news on the economic front. new numbers show the biggest increase in jobs in three years. so why isn't the unemployment rate changing? plus, it's pirate season. a developing drama on the high seas. u.s. ships fight off attackers. why this may be just the beginning. and the viral video being watched around the world. we'll talk to the family involved in a single lady sing-along. how much does dad regret telling his son he's no single lady? we begin with two major stories. new jobs numbers are out lower

than expected but still show the biggest increase in jobs in three years. it all comes as president obama wraps up a speech in charlotte, north carolina where he focused on the economy and jobs. the president toured a factory that makes battery parts and held a town hall meeting with workers there. he reacted to news today the economy created 162,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate remained steady at 9.7%. >> today is an encouraging day. we learned that the economy actually produced a substantial number of jobs instead of losing a substantial number of jobs. we are beginning to turn the corner. >> nbc's mike viqueira is in charlotte. workers there at that plant, mike, still shared with the president their concerns about higher taxes, things like that, even though their company is one of those that benefited from the stimulus. >> reporter: that's right.

$50 million, this company here in charlotte, north carolina, was awarded under the stimulus. they don't make just any batteries but a component that goes into lithium ion batteries and keeping up with battery technology that's going to go into a lot of electric cars and a lot of power appliances over the course of the next decade has been a very high priority of the president. he's been talking about it time and time again over the last several months talking about the need to keep up with china in this industry. but the president did arrive here in charlotte, north carolina under a carolina blue sky and declared that the worst of the economic storm is over and brighter days are ahead. he says we are starting to turn the corner, this even though the unemployment rate is still stagnant, unchanged, 9.7%, but the economy did add its highest total as you point out in almost three years, 162,000 jobs, even though about a third or perhaps a quarter, about 42,000 of those jobs have a lot of people hired on.